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About Me

I love fantasy as it
leaves everything to the imagination and gives one the freedom when creating to express this.
My inspiration often comes from antique bits of lace and/or
fabric, old photos, antique display items, found objects in nature. A lilting tune can also inspire me, as can other artists' works.
I live in a wonderfully quaint town approx. an hour
northeast of Toronto, Ontario with my hubby and our dog and cat. Both daughters have flown
the coop.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Yep, and that was in the shade yesterday - today is actually a tiny bit hotter, AND it is humid. YECK! I am definitely NOT a hot weather fan. Warm and sunny? Yes! Hot and humid? No!

We had a busy long weekend, mainly opening our pool and having a couple of bbqs. A lot of work outside, and I was a sweltering, wilted, sweaty mess. Hubby, on the other hand, seemed cool as a cucumber. Something not right there (and he definitely did a lot more work than I did).

Below is a pic of some of the boats on our lake yesterday - this looks cool and refreshing on a hot day! I would love to jump in our pool, however the water won't be at the right temp for a couple of weeks yet.

So.....because I was not feeling cool and jaunty like these guys below, (especially the one in the lower corner)...

.....I chilled on the porch with hubby in the evening and also did some exploring on the computer, enjoying the cool air conditioned temp in the house.

I'm always amazed at the scope and wealth of art on the internet. It really is never-ending

Below are some origami sculptures (most done by the ingenious folding of one piece of paper) by Sipho Mabona

Amazing!

I found some other cool sites and examples and will show them in the next couple of weeks

In the meantime, if it is hot and muggy where you are, I hope you were able to find some shade, relax and enjoy the day.

....and maybe enjoy some music. I found this delightful young singer last night and love the rather caberet sound that she has. If you go to Sarah Slean'swebsite, check out some of her videos for other songs.

Friday, May 21, 2010

And, so it begins. The first long weekend of the summer. Victoria Day weekend, celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday.

This much-looked-forward-to holiday is most commonly referred to in Canada as May 2-4 (not only is it celebrating a May 24th birthday, but a case of beer in Canada is often called a 2-4, of which much is often consumed)

The pic above shows a highway leading from Toronto, jampacked with traffic, a common occurrence during the summer month weekends

This weekend is when people go to open up their cottages

I wonder if "opening" a cottage built out of two trolley cars is easier than just a regular cottage?

Of course, not everyone has a cottage, but does have the need to celebrate the warmer weather and get out of the city

Camping anyone? Tent?.....or.....

....trailer?

After that long, very tedious drive, one needs a way to release the pent up aggravation of all those crappy drivers clogging up the highway - if the weather suits, what better way than a plunge in some (still) freezing cold water?

Unfortunately, May 2-4 can be cold and rainy, in which case cramped quarters in dismal surroundings are necessary

Many do not go away for the whole weekend, but go off on little excursions - like picnics! (Canadians no longer wear ties and aprons on picnics however)

For the younger set, May 2-4 means one thing.....

beach parties

lots of beer....

and more partying....

For the rest of us, this is the weekend to tackle the weeds, plant some flowers, and hope for this........

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Last Friday for my birthday I did some shopping at Michaels and a couple of other art/craft shops and have two large bags of supplies to put away. I decided I better organize and do a thorough cleaning of my little room first and thought I would start with the 6 drawer tower that I store my beaded and metallic laces in. These drawers now contained other laces and bits and bobs (I tend to throw stuff anywhere and everywhere when I'm working). They were a mess.

The pic above shows some of the lace from the first 4 drawers of my tower AFTER working for 5 hours yesterday

I'm now starting to refill the first three drawers as I sort and organize

I was initially going to also go through my upstairs room where I have my vintage textiles and clothing stored but wisely decided against it - I do hope to get to work on a figure this weekend!

Last evening I looked like one of these gals - blurry eyes and totally covered in lint and 100 year old lace dust.... and due to the huge mess that I have now created in my room, I'm pretty sure I still have a defeated glare on my face .

Where did all the dust and lint come from? Some of the metallic and beaded laces were still attached to remnants of 1900s dresses, primarily silks that had shattered. As the lace and any salvageable trimming is removed, clouds of 100 year old dust poufs up. Pieces like the part of an Edwardian bodice below:

By the end of the day, my sneezing, coughing and itchy eyes clued me in that I really should have been wearing some kind of protective gear

Workplace hazards? Probably, and if I have anymore fabric/lace to dismantle today, I will wear a mask. A huge perk to a thorough organization like this however is finding pieces of laces that one forgets they have. The three shown below are an example of some trims that I came across yesterday that were tucked at the back of a drawer, their beauty totally forgotten. I still have two drawers of the tower to go through...........hee - like finding treasure!

Before I do anymore sorting though, I'm going to check out the antique lace on Ebay and Etsy. My name is Sue and I'm a lace addict.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Over a year ago I posted about a disaster I had using some old Prosculpt. What should have cured a soft pale colour, ended up a dark mottled tan/brown. I didn't trash the piece, thinking that someday I would play around and just see if I could save her.

My poor little fae "fresh" from the oven.

Originally I thought of using the darkness of her skin and doing something earth (or dirt) related, but this didn't overly inspire me. Last month, the ADO Monthly Challenge was "Spring Enchantment". I was responsible for this challenge so obviously had to create something. I pulled the poor little fae above from my discard basket and started painting.

She received a coat of gesso, three coats of Titan Buff (Golden acrylics),a coat of Green Interferance and some Burnt Umber wash (to give her a slightly antiqued look). I painted her features, wigged her, costumed her in antique laces and netting and used the wings I had made from fantasy film. She is holding a small nest I made with two little eggs in it and sitting on a "stone" (actually a repurposed resin candle stick) pedestal.

My ADO Spring Challenge piece ..."Rebirth"

I have a couple more pieces that I have thrown in my discard basket and one of these days, I may just see about making some more lemonade out of one of them. For now though, I'm on to some completely new work - using clay that I know will cure properly.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I have been looking for awhile for a leather set like the above. I've found several, however neither my hubby or I really wanted to pay close to $5,000 for a set. I'm also of the firm belief that when possible, buy used rather than new.

The other night I came across an ad on Craigslist (since been taken down, but I grabbed the pics) for the above set at a ridiculously low price. Answered it, went to see the pieces last night, bought it. It is super comfortable and much larger than it appears in the pics. The slight bit of wear that it does have gives a warm, rich patina to the leather. The colour is a deep burgundy, brown.

We will be getting it on Thursday evening so I'm in the process of rearranging and moving our current livingroom furniture out. The next step will be repainting the walls, hanging some fabulous vintage barkcloth drapes that I have been storing for years and getting a new area rug. What a lift a purchase like this can give one!